--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We cannot be secure by limiting our…" description: "\"We cannot be secure by limiting our liberties, as some of our political leaders are demanding, but only by expanding themWe should take our example not..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/908/howard-zinn-576_compassion_we-cannot-be-secure-by-limiting-our-libe_2161653.jpg" --- # We cannot be secure by limiting our liberties, as some of… ![“We cannot be secure by limiting our liberties, as some of our political leaders are demanding, but only by expanding themWe should take our example not from the military and political leaders shouting 'retaliate' and 'war' but from the doctors and nurses and firemen and policemen who have been…” quote by Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/908/howard-zinn-576_compassion_we-cannot-be-secure-by-limiting-our-libe_2161653.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/908/howard-zinn-576_compassion_we-cannot-be-secure-by-limiting-our-libe_2161653.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/908/howard-zinn-576_compassion_we-cannot-be-secure-by-limiting-our-libe_2161653.jpg) > “We cannot be secure by limiting our liberties, as some of our political leaders are demanding, but only by expanding themWe should take our example not from the military and political leaders shouting 'retaliate' and 'war' but from the doctors and nurses and firemen and policemen who have been saving lives in the midst of mayhem, whose first thoughts are not violence, but healing, and not vengeance, but compassion.” [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Freedom grows when rights expand, not when they are restricted; emulate caregivers who choose healing over aggression. **In simple terms:** Expand freedoms, emulate healers. Key Takeaway Choose compassion, expand liberty. Themes freedom compassion leadership Mood determined reflective Type political ethical When to use this quote - political activism - community service - healthcare - emergency response Key Concepts civil rights ethical leadership Questions to Reflect On - How can we protect expanding rights? - What examples of compassionate leadership inspire you? A Different Perspective Expanding liberties can face strong opposition from entrenched powers. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Compassion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/compassion/) [Doctors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doctors/) [Doctors and nurses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doctors-and-nurses/) [Fireman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fireman/) [Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) [Healing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/healing/) [Leader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leader/) [Leadership](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leadership/) [Liberty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/liberty/) [Mayhem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mayhem/) [Military](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/military/) [Nurse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nurse/) [Policemen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/policemen/) [Political](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/political/) [Political Leader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/political-leader/) [Political leaders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/political-leaders/) [Save a life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/save-a-life/) [Saving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/saving/) [Saving Lives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/saving-lives/) [Vengeance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vengeance/) [Violence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/violence/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) ## Related quotes > [The War on Terror has been and continues to be, above all, a war on the most basic liberties and political safeguards that we're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-greenwald/the-war-on-terror-has-been-and-continues-to-be-above-all-a-war-on-the/) [Glenn Greenwald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-greenwald/) > [The doctors and nurses at the Biamba Marie Mutombo Hospital are saving lives every day and helping improve health care in the DRC which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dikembe-mutombo/the-doctors-and-nurses-at-the-biamba-marie-mutombo-hospital-are/) [Dikembe Mutombo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dikembe-mutombo/) > [I always loved that tragic look, the bigger-than-life women. 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'You're still playing doctors and nurses with the guy you screwed Charlie over with.' Her mouth fell open. 'Don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karina-bliss/liar-he-said-in-disgust-you-re-still-playing-doctors-and-nurses-with/) [Karina Bliss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karina-bliss/) > [“I have a favorite cemetery I go to, because it’s really clean and the doctors and nurses are all very nice.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/i-have-a-favorite-cemetery-i-go-to-because-it-s-really-clean-and-the/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [ When you see those in healthcare who don't get this burn-out, they are very motherly, fatherly, or loving and attentive with the patients. \[These\]… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthieu-ricard/when-you-see-those-in-healthcare-who-don-t-get-this-burn-out-they-are/) [Matthieu Ricard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthieu-ricard/) > [The doctors may be mapping out the war games, but it is the nurses who make the conflict bearable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/the-doctors-may-be-mapping-out-the-war-games-but-it-is-the-nurses-who/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [Doctors and nurses seemed to have been born and raised in the hospital, with only short punctuations of absenteeism for such things as schooling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marjorie-kellogg/doctors-and-nurses-seemed-to-have-been-born-and-raised-in-the/) Marjorie Kellogg > [If Christian scientists had more science and doctors more Christianity, it wouldn't make any difference which you called in - if you had a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/finley-peter-dunne/if-christian-scientists-had-more-science-and-doctors-more/) [Finley Peter Dunne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/finley-peter-dunne/) > [One reason for the tremendous increase in health-care costs in the U.S. is managerial neglect of the "hotel services" by the people who dominate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-drucker/one-reason-for-the-tremendous-increase-in-health-care-costs-in-the-u/) [Peter Drucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-drucker/) ## More by Howard Zinn > [“A black man, Benjamin Banneker, who taught himself mathematics and astronomy, predicted accurately a solar eclipse, and was appointed to plan the new city…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/a-black-man-benjamin-banneker-who-taught-himself-mathematics-and/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [There is no flag large enough to cover the shame of killing innocent people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/there-is-no-flag-large-enough-to-cover-the-shame-of-killing-innocent/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [“a good education is a synthesis of book learning and involvement in social action, because each enrich the other. 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So when the British military commander in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/george-washington-had-turned-down-the-requests-of-blacks-seeking/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) [Explore all 461 Howard Zinn quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) ## More Compassion quotes > [Half the misery of human life might be extinguished if men would alleviate the general curse they lie under by mutual offices of compassion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/half-the-misery-of-human-life-might-be-extinguished-if-men-would/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [“I fight with love and kindness as my weapons and compassion as my defense.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debasish-mridha/i-fight-with-love-and-kindness-as-my-weapons-and-compassion-as-my/) [Debasish Mridha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debasish-mridha/) > [I really enjoy making people laugh; I've discovered that's a great technique. That's as powerful as stirring their sorrow, stirring their compassion, because that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-lucado/i-really-enjoy-making-people-laugh-i-ve-discovered-that-s-a-great/) [Max Lucado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-lucado/) > [“If you refuse to use physical force, then you will be at the mercy of your oppressor!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/segun-magbagbeola/if-you-refuse-to-use-physical-force-then-you-will-be-at-the-mercy-of/) Segun Magbagbeola > [For some reason, we are truly convinced that if we criticize ourselves, the criticism will lead to change. If we are harsh, we believe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geneen-roth/for-some-reason-we-are-truly-convinced-that-if-we-criticize-ourselves/) [Geneen Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geneen-roth/) > [I could not have slept tonight if I had left that helpless little creature to perish on the ground.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/i-could-not-have-slept-tonight-if-i-had-left-that-helpless-little/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [We are puzzled and bewildered whenever we see suffering in this world because we have become accustomed to the mercy and the long-suffering of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-c-sproul/we-are-puzzled-and-bewildered-whenever-we-see-suffering-in-this-world/) [R. C. Sproul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-c-sproul/) > [“Helpers in every corner, helpers in every hood. 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Because by doing so, they also discourage the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamand-kojouri/no-one-has-any-right-to-tell-you-that-the-way-you-perceive-yourself/) [Kamand Kojouri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamand-kojouri/) > [“la ilaha ilallah muhammadun rasulullah, alaihi salatullah wa alihi wal ahibba "shine your mercy like the sun, and be gracious as the earth let…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/talib-al-habib/la-ilaha-ilallah-muhammadun-rasulullah-alaihi-salatullah-wa-alihi-wal/) Talib al Habib > [The love for all living creatures is the most noble attribute of man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/the-love-for-all-living-creatures-is-the-most-noble-attribute-of-man/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) [Browse all 9,892 Compassion quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/compassion/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We cannot be secure by limiting our liberties, as some of our political leaders are demanding, but only by expanding themWe should take our example not from the military and political leaders shouting 'retaliate' and 'war' but from the doctors and nurses and firemen and policemen who have been saving lives in the midst of mayhem, whose first thoughts are not violence, but healing, and not vengeance, but compassion.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Howard Zinn" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/we-cannot-be-secure-by-limiting-our-liberties-as-some-of-our/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Compassion" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/we-cannot-be-secure-by-limiting-our-liberties-as-some-of-our/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/908/howard-zinn-576_compassion_we-cannot-be-secure-by-limiting-our-libe_2161653.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/908/howard-zinn-576_compassion_we-cannot-be-secure-by-limiting-our-libe_2161653.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/908/howard-zinn-576_compassion_we-cannot-be-secure-by-limiting-our-libe_2161653.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We cannot be secure by limiting our liberties, as some of our political leaders are demanding, but only by…” — Howard Zinn", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Howard Zinn", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "We cannot be secure by limiting...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/we-cannot-be-secure-by-limiting-our-liberties-as-some-of-our/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/we-cannot-be-secure-by-limiting-our-liberties-as-some-of-our/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```